Tuesday, December 01st
The 335th day of 2009.
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Today's Highlights in History
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On Dec. 1, 1959, representatives of 12 countries, including the United States, signed a treaty in Washington setting aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve, free from military activity. (Go to article.)
On Dec. 1, 1872, Gerard Swope, the president of the General Electric Company for 20 years, was born. Following his death on Nov. 20, 1957, his obituary appeared in The Times. (Go to obit. | Other Birthdays)
Editorial Cartoon of the Day
On December 1, 1883, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about New York City Mayor Franklin Edson and Tammany Hall. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.)
On this date in:
1824 The House of Representatives convened to decide the presidential election because no candidate had received a majority in the Electoral College. John Quincy Adams was eventually chosen the winner over Andrew Jackson and Henry Clay.
1913 The first drive-in automobile service station opened, in Pittsburgh.
1919 Lady Astor was sworn in as the first female member of the British Parliament.
1934 Sergei M. Kirov, the head of the Communist Party in Leningrad, was assassinated as Soviet leader Josef Stalin began a massive purge that would claim tens of millions of lives.
1942 Nationwide gasoline rationing went into effect in the United States.
1955 Rosa Parks, a black seamstress, defied the law by refusing to give up her seat to a white man aboard a Montgomery, Ala., city bus. Parks was arrested, sparking a year-long boycott of the buses by blacks.
1963 The Beatles' first single, "I Want to Hold Your Hand," was released in the United States.
1965 An airlift of refugees from Cuba to the United States began in which thousands of Cubans were allowed to leave their homeland.
1969 The U.S. government held its first draft lottery since World War II.
1973 David Ben-Gurion, Israel's first prime minister, died at age 87.
1991 Ukrainians voted overwhelmingly for independence from the Soviet Union.
1992 Amy Fisher was sentenced to five to 15 years in prison for shooting and seriously wounding Mary Jo Buttafuoco, the wife of the teenager's lover, Joey Buttafuoco, on New York's Long Island. (She served seven years.)
1997 A 14-year-old student opened fire on a morning prayer group at a high school in West Paducah, Ky., killing three students and wounding five.
2000 Vicente Fox was sworn in as president of Mexico, ending 71 years of ruling-party domination.
2004 Tom Brokaw signed off for the last time as anchor of the "NBC Nightly News."
2008 The National Bureau of Economic Research officially declared the U.S. to be in a recession.
2008 President-elect Barack Obama announced his national security team, including Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state.
Current Birthdays
Bette Midler turns 64 years old today.
AP Photo/Isaac Brekken Actress-singer Bette Midler turns 64 years old today.
87 Paul Picerni
Actor
86 Stansfield Turner
Former CIA director
75 Billy Paul
R&B singer
74 Woody Allen
Writer, director
70 Lee Trevino
Golfer
70 Dianne Lennon
Singer (The Lennon Sisters)
67 Casey Van Beek
Country musician
66 David Salzman
TV producer
65 Eric Bloom
Rock musician (Blue Oyster Cult)
65 John Densmore
Rock musician (The Doors)
63 Gilbert O'Sullivan
Singer
58 Treat Williams
Actor
53 Kim Richey
Country singer
51 Charlene Tilton
Actress ("Dallas")
49 Carol Alt
Model, actress
48 Jeremy Northam
Actor
43 Andrew Adamson
Director, producer ("Narnia" and "Shrek" movies)
43 Larry Walker
Baseball player
42 Nestor Carbonell
Actor ("Lost")
39 Golden Brooks
Actress
39 Sarah Silverman
Comedian-actress
37 Ron Melendez
Actor
34 David Hornsby
Actor, writer ("It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia")
34 Sarah Masen
Singer
32 Brad Delson
Rock musician (Linkin Park)
28 Mika Fineo
Rock musician (Filter)
21 Ashley Monique Clark
Actress
Historic Birthdays
Gerard Swope
12/1/1872 - 11/20/1957
American industrialist
(Go to obit.)
74 Etienne-Maurice Falconet
12/1/1716 - 1/24/1791
French sculptor
73 Martin Heinrich Klaproth
12/1/1743 - 1/1/1817
German chemist and discoverer of uranium
88 Marie Tussaud
12/1/1761 - 4/16/1850
French-born museum proprietress
77 Sir Dominic Corrigan
12/1/1802 - 2/1/1880
Irish physician and author
88 Rex Stout
12/1/1886 - 10/27/1975
American author
72 Walter Alston
12/1/1911 - 10/1/1984
American manager of the Brooklyn & Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team
73 Minoru Yamasaki
12/1/1912 - 2/6/1986
American architect
76 Mary Martin
12/1/1913 - 11/3/1990
American actress
Cyril Ritchard
12/1/ - 12/18/1977
British actor
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